Broken Worlds: Age of Ruin

I followed Mare Do Well breathlessly as she led me through a dense forest. I could hear shouting and rustling far behind us, evidence that BlackTech was in hot pursuit.

“Hold on a minute,” I gasped, “Who are you? How do you know me?”

Mare Do Well stared straight ahead, ducking under branches and leaping over fallen logs. “Don’t speak,” she said quickly, “it will make it harder for them to locate us if we don't make any noise. I’ll explain everything soon enough.”

Eventually, long after our pursuers had given up, we reached the edge of the forest, which led to a small village. The buildings were burned down for the most part, with their doors and windows smashed or missing. Old, broken furniture, weapons, and even scorched skeletons, human and pony alike, littered the streets. It was like walking through a nightmare.

“Where are we?” I whispered as we trotted down the empty streets, glancing around nervously at the burned-out homes and businesses.

Mare Do Well glanced over at me. “You have been gone a long time,” she murmured sadly. “Have you forgotten all of the adventures you had here with your friends?”

I stopped in my track, my eyes suddenly widening with emotion and memory. “Ponyville,” I whispered, the memories of the time I had spent here rushing back to me all at once. “What happened?” I asked, looking sadly at my costumed companion.

Mare Do Well looked up and down the streets, sighing heavily. “Ponyville was one of the first places to be attacked,” she explained. “BlackTech went for the weaker towns and cities to quell resistance, and slowly targeted larger and larger cities. Now, Canterlot, The Crystal Empire, Cloudsdale, and Manehattan are the only remaining cities that haven’t been destroyed or captured by BlackTech.”

I stared disbelievingly at the ravaged town my friends and I once called home. “I could have done something,” I said sadly, “I could have helped…”

Mare Do Well began walking toward the remains of Sugarcube Corner. “There’s nothing that could have been done,” she called back. “The citizens of Ponyville fought valiantly, but it was a doomed effort. BlackTech destroyed this town and most of its inhabitants, and then they moved on to their next target.

“Not all is lost, however,” she added as I caught up with her, “Those who survived went into hiding right under BlackTech’s noses.” She walked up to the counter, atop which sat a polished, golden bell. Next to it was a small, folded card that said “Ring For Service”.

“Would you care to do the honors?” the masked mare asked, gesturing to the bell. I stared at it for a moment, confused by the bell’s pristine state when compared to literally everything else around us, and trotted over. I pressed my hoof down on the button, and a clean, friendly “ding” rang throughout the ravaged bakery. We sat in silence for a few moments, until a rhythmic knocking sounded from the floor beneath us. Mare Do Well responded by stamping her hooves on the wooden boards in a similar rhythm, and a previously unnoticeable trapdoor swung open in front of us.

“Welcome home, Mare Do Well,” a familiar zebra said acknowledgingly, “I trust you have good news to tell?”

Mare Do Well nodded. “I have liberated the ponies from the nearby labor factory,” she reported, “and I have brought along an old friend who happened to be imprisoned there,” she added, stepping aside to let Zecora see me.

“Applejack!” she cried, rushing forward and wrapping her forehooves tightly around me, “it is so good to have you back. Come with me down below, for there is much I have to show,” she said, gesturing for us to follow her into the hole. The trapdoor led into a dirt tunnel lit with torches that lined the walls, and wooden supports every few feet kept the tunnel from collapsing.

“It is here that friends, both old and new, have found a place to build anew,” Zecora explained as we descended beneath Ponyville.

I stared in awe as we passed several branching tunnels on our way down, until we emerged into a vast cavern. “Was this place always here?” I asked, amazed by the underground city that matched the one that lay on the surface in terms of size.

“Sort of,” Mare Do Well said slowly. “Mayor Mare had a secret tunnel beneath her office that led to this place in case of an emergency. When she caught wind of BlackTech’s advancement, she got as many ponies down here as she could before the army arrived. After that, we just expanded this place to make room in case any new refugees arrived.”

I nodded, watching as the ponies in the cave went about their daily business. It was almost exactly like life in Ponyville, except the citizens now had hardened, determined looks on their faces. It didn’t surprise me; the world had changed a lot in the past few years, and their lives were no longer peaceful and idyllic.

“Do you know where our friends are?” I asked Zecora worriedly, “Twilight and the others?”

Mare Do Well stepped forward. “Twilight is helping Celestia with the war, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have started a group of guerilla fighters with Drayke, Rarity is a soldier in the Equestrian Army, and Fluttershy,” she said, trailing off, “well, she’s been with you this whole time.” As she said this, she took off her hat and pulled away her mask, revealing the butter-yellow fur underneath. She now stared at me with bright-green eyes, but the softness they once had was gone, replaced with fierce determination. Her once-long mane was now cut short, similar in style to Rainbow Dash’s.

“Fluttershy,” I gasped, staring at my old friend with joy-filled eyes.

“Hello, Applejack,” she said with a slight smile, “It’s good to see you again.”

~-~-~-~-~

Fluttershy told me the story of what she went through during the years since the war began. With humans constantly roaming the forest, she was forced to relocate to a less conspicuous dwelling, a barren, hollowed-out tree. With danger all around her and little to take comfort in, she trained night and day, growing stronger as time went on. Now, she was just as strong as I had once been, and had a more solid build. Her new strength wasn’t apparent through her physical appearance alone, although she was more fit than when I had last seen her. What really made her look like a new mare was the way she carried herself; long ago, she always kept her head low, and let her mane fall over her eyes. Now, however, she stood straight and proud, had a confident look in her eyes, and spoke much more clearly than she once did.

“Why dress as Mare Do Well?” I asked as I followed her around the vast underground city, “Why hide yourself?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Ponies need a symbol to get behind,” she said nonchalantly. “A mysterious and heroic figure like Mare Do Well would make an excellent symbol to encourage ponies to resist BlackTech and fight back. Also,” she added, trying to hold back a smile, “It feels really cool wearing it.”

I nodded, smiling for the first time in a long time, when something hit me. “Fluttershy, have you seen any of my family?” I asked suddenly, giving my family a worried look. “I haven’t seen them since BlackTech attacked Sweet Apple Acres.”

Fluttershy looked ahead grimly. “I’m sorry, Applejack,” she said quietly, “but… we found Granny Smith and Big Mac. A group of ponies and I went out searching for survivors after BlackTech’s initial attack, and… we found them,” she explained, obviously trying to avoid describing their fate. She didn’t have to say exactly what happened; the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice were enough.

Tears streamed down my face. “What about Applebloom?” I asked desperately, “Please tell me my little sister is okay!”

Fluttershy gave me a sympathetic look. “There wasn’t any sign of Applebloom at the farm,” she said lightly. “She might have escaped and gone to hide out somewhere else.”

I sniffed and nodded, my eyes screwed shut. “That’s the best news I’ve gotten in a long time,” I admitted.

Fluttershy nodded. “Well, then I have some more news that might get your spirits up even further,” she said, motioning for me to follow her into a nearby hut. It was constructed using various wooden planks, stones, and bricks, most of which was probably salvaged from the abandoned town above. “This was on my bed when I woke up a few days ago,” she said, gesturing to a piece of paper that sat on a nearby table. I walked over and read it, the style of the letters telling me who the sender was long before I reached the end of the page:

Dear Fluttershy,

I hope you are doing well in Ponyville. I’m sorry I can’t help you and the others rebuild, but our resources are spread thin, and until recently I feared for Princess Celestia’s sanity under the heavy burden this war had brought her.

I’m writing this to let you know that I am searching for a way to use the Elements of Harmony to drive BlackTech out of Equestria. I do not know how long it will take, but I am hoping I will arrive in Ponyville with answers sometime within the next few weeks.

I hope to see you soon.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle.

Fluttershy gave me an excited look as I turned my gaze from the letter to her. “So, Twilight has a plan?” I asked slowly.

My old friend nodded quickly. “It looks like it,” she said eagerly, “and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.”

I sighed deeply, all of the information I had received in the past few minutes overwhelming me. On one side, my hometown had been destroyed, and most of my family was dead. On the other, there was a chance that my little sister was still alive, many of my friends had banded together to rebuild their old lives, and now we had hope of ending this war once and for all.

“Twilight said she’d be here in a few weeks to get us, right?” I asked suddenly, giving Fluttershy an expectant look. “Is there anything I can do to help out before we leave?”

Fluttershy smiled warmly. “I thought you’d never ask,” she said happily, and led me outside, explaining some of the jobs that needed to be done.

For the first time in four years, I wasn’t just a slave to the humans; I was making a difference for my kind.